ANAHEIM - Of all the games within the games that will ultimately decide the opening-round Stanley Cup playoff series between the Ducks and San Jose Sharks, a particularly fascinating one involves the two top-drawer defensemen on each side.

The presence of Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger the past three seasons generally has given the Ducks a significant edge on almost every opponent, but San Jose's acquisition last summer of Dan Boyle and Rob Blake has produced a comparable duo that was a big reason the Sharks posted an NHL-best 53-18-11 record this season.

Just as Niedermayer and Pronger played huge roles when the Ducks won the opening two games in San Jose, Boyle and Blake stepped up with a combined three goals and five points Tuesday night as the Sharks posted a 4-3 victory to pull within two games to one in the series.

After Blake opened the scoring with one of his patented point shots 5:34 into the game, Boyle scored two goals, including a first-period strike that snapped a 0-for-13 San Jose power-play drought. Boyle and Blake then combined, each making a nice pass, to set up Patrick Marleau's decisive man-advantage conversion at 10:33 of the third period.

The Ducks will attempt to respond in Game 4 Thursday night at Honda Center.

"We can counter them a couple different ways," Pronger said following Wednesday's optional Ducks practice. "One, don't take as many penalties. And then do a little bit better job of closing them down.

"Once Blake gets it in his hands, we have to close him out more and not give him as much time as he had (Tuesday). He was able to kind of walk down and take his pick if he was shooting, making a pass across the crease or, like you saw on the winning goal, throw it in the slot. So closing him out is going to be pretty important."

While Blake can be compared to Pronger, each possessing a booming shot and a physical style that can punish opponents, Boyle is similar to Niedermayer.

"They both have the ability to get up on the play, and then get back," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "They can make a play at the net and then have the skating ability to recover. They're both great hockey players. I think any coach would love to have either one of them."

Just as with Niedermayer, one potential avenue toward neutralizing Boyle, and possibly creating an odd-man rush the other way, is to finish him physically when he ventures deep into the offensive zone.

"He's all over the ice," Pronger said. "He always has the puck or is creating by his movement and jumping into the attack. I think we need to do a better job of trying to eliminate him from the play a little bit more, and trying to deny him the puck because he's a big part of the focal point of their offense."

Again, like Niedermayer, Boyle has an uncanny knack for skating beneath the radar, and for slipping away from significant contact.

"We need to do a better job, obviously, of finding where he is," Niedermayer said. "On one goal, he kind of got lost and we didn't really have coverage on him. Obviously, he's been around. He knows what he's doing, when he wants to jump up. As a defenseman who does that, you try not to get caught. If we can catch him down there, maybe slow him up, prevent him from getting back right away, we'll try."

The contributions of Niedermayer and Pronger, meanwhile, are undoubtedly equally vexing to the Sharks.

Niedermayer scored the winning goal, on the power play, in a 2-0 Ducks victory in the opening game of the series and assisted on Drew Miller's winner in a 3-2, Game 2 triumph. In addition to making a brilliant read that enabled him to score a tying goal midway through the second period Tuesday, Pronger has been instrumental in helping contain San Jose's top line that features Joe Thornton, limiting the standout center to just two assists in the series.

As important as Boyle, Blake, Niedermayer and Pronger are likely to be in determining whether it is the Ducks or Sharks who move on, they remain only part of the larger equation.

"Not really," Niedermayer said when asked whether the marquee matchup provides extra motivation. "It's team versus team. Your job is to go out and try and help your team."

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